Glossary Terms Beginning T

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T point: See T-interface.
TA: ISDN terminal adapter: provides interface conversion between the S0 bus and the serial communications interface on the subscriber data terminal equipment (DTE).
Talkback: Bi-directional circuit to allow studio-remote conversations, instructions and information to be exchanged, between the remote location and the control room of the studio.
Talking-head: Colloquial term for a single head shot of a reporter.
Tape feed: Video or audio tape transmission.
TDMA: Time division multiple access: refers to a form of multiple access where a single carrier is shared by many users so that signals from earth stations reaching the satellite consecutively are processed in time segments without overlapping.
Teleport: Fixed earth station; typically has a large number of satellite antennas.
TES: Transportable earth station: mobile microwave radio transmitter used in satellite communications, including SNG systems.
Threshold: Point at which a signal will fail to be correctly demodulated: a digital receive system will fail abruptly with either a 'frozen' or black picture when the input signal fails to achieve threshold; an analogue system will suffer increasing degradation to the point of failure the further below threshold the signal level drops.
T-interface: ISDN subscriber interface at the NT1.
Tonne: One thousand kilograms.
Tracking, Telemetry and Control (or Command): Management of in-orbit satellite primary systems from the ground; sometimes referred to as tracking, telemetry and command.
Transmitter: Electronic device consisting of oscillator, modulator and other circuits which produce an electromagnetic signal for radiation into the atmosphere by an antenna.
Transponder: Combination receiver, frequency converter and transmitter package, physically on-board the satellite.
Transport stream: Multiplex of programme channels in a DVB system.
Travelling wave tube: TWT: powerful microwave amplifying vacuum tube used in a high-power amplifier, commonly employed in SNG systems as well as on satellites.
True North: Theoretical North Pole: geographical designation of North Pole at 90°N latitude, 0° longitude.
TT&C: See Tracking, telemetry and control (or command).
Turnaround: Act of downlinking a satellite signal, altering it and instantaneously uplinking it again; often used to provide a multi-hop path around the globe, or to change the signal from Ku-band to C-band.
Turnkey: System or installation provided complete and ready for operation by a manufacturer or supplier.
TVRO: Television receive only: description of a small receive-only facility, using a small antenna; in SNG often used for off-air check or cueing purposes.
Tweeking: Engineering slang for adjustment to optimize performance.
Two-way: Studio-remote interview in a news broadcasts.
TWT: Travelling wave tube.
Tx: Transmit; transmission.
Type-approval: Official process of obtaining technical approval for an earth station to be used with a particular satellite system.